The Board has reopened the previously denied claim of service connection for residuals of a back injury and granted it. The Veteran's tinnitus is associated with exposure to excessive noise during active duty, and his PTSD is currently rated at 30 percent.
The deciding factor: New evidence provided by a private medical professional established a possible relationship between the Veteran's diagnosed back disability and his active service, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating this issue. The audiologist concluded that the Veteran's current tinnitus was not related to military noise exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a back injury, tinnitus, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- March 31, 2010
- Citation
- 1011957
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1011957.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
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